Giguere, Avalanche blank Bruins

Recap: In an up-tempo first period in which the
two teams combined for 24 shots, the Avs were the only team to find
twine. Ryan O'Reilly was in the slot and tipped a shot from the
point by Andre Benoit past Tuukka Rask to make it 1-0 Colorado.

In the second, Shawn Thornton and Patrick Bordeleau dropped the
gloves and engaged in some rather hostile hugging before the B's
winger landed a few solid punches. With under a minute to go in the
frame, things got weird near J.S. Giguere's net. The result was a
non-fight between Milan Lucic and Gabriel Landeskog, as the latter
wouldn't throw down. Lucic was then given a game misconduct for
shoving the Avs' captain after it was clear there wouldn't be a
fight.

Boston put 14 pucks on net in the third, but Giguere was was
sharp throughout. The veteran netminder stopped all 39 shots he
faced, earning his first career shutout against the B's. Matt
Duchene closed out the scoring with an empty-netter with 26 seconds
to go.

Key Play of the Game: Boston's best scoring
chances came in the first period when their power play was moving
the puck well. Unless my eyes and ears deceived me, Johnny Boychuk
and Dougie Hamilton hit the post less than a minute apart. One of
those nights, I suppose.

Records: Colorado 4-0-0, eight points; Boston
2-1-0, four points

Connolly's Commendations: Kudos to Giguere. The
man looked mighty impressive for a 75-year-old 36-year-old
who had a rough go of it last season.

I
t might not have found the back of the net, but it really is a
treat to watch Krug maneuver on the power play and unleash lasers
from the point.

Though he finished minus-1, thanks to being on the ice for
Duchene's empty-netter, I thought this was Iginla's best game yet.
The veteran winger looked extra agile and had a few quality
chances, putting seven shots on goal.

Connolly's Critiques: Tough night for Loui
Eriksson. The B's newcomer remains pointless on the year, had no
shots on goal and was whistled for a decidedly bogus embellishment
penalty when hooked by P.A. Parenteau midway through the third.

Notes: This was the first time someone shutout
the Bruins since Feb. 28, 2012 (1-0 loss to Sens).

Final Thoughts: It's really hard to pinpoint
what went wrong for Boston. I think the frustration comes from the
fact that the B's appeared to catch a break with Semyon Varlamov
getting the night off, leaving a rusty Giguere to start behind a
far-from-spectacular defensive corps. Of all teams to blank the
B's, I probably would've pegged Colorado as the least likely to do
so before the season began. Maybe they are, in fact, for real?

Next: The Bruins will travel to Columbus to
take on the Blue Jackets on Saturday at 2 o'clock.